Peculiar Story.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4615, 19 October 1883, Page 2

Peculiar Story.

The Christchurch correspondent of the Herald says:—" A very singular instance of loss of memory of which most persons are pretty keen about —to wit, money— came to light in Christchurch. A Norwegian called at Mr Wickes' Mining Exchange, and asked for information as to the banks existing in Greymouth in 1866. The reason for these inquiries came oat when the information-seeker told his story, which was to the following effect:—He was in Greymouth in 1866, " making his pile," and hnving amassed a considerable sum, resolved to go to Christchurch. He called at one of the banks where his money was de» posited, and obtained a draft for £750 on the Christchurch branch. On reaching Christchurch, he went to the bank for his money, was told to call again, and informed that the money could not be paid till the end of: ten days. Communication between Greymouth and here was not so frequent then as it is now. At the end of ten days, the man called again, and (.ho money was about to be paid over to him in notes, when he expressed a wish to have it in gold, as he was "going home." The bank official told him that he had better take a draft on the bank's head office at London. To this he agreed, and received two drafts amounting to £750, payuble in London. He then went to Dunedin, but altered his mind as to going home, and remained there. Some persons will recollect that in 1867 there was a great fire in the Octagon. A woman was in the the burning, and who was to save her? The Norwegian, who is the subject of this story was there, rushed into the building, found the woman, and though almost stifled with smoke, he got the woman on his back and effected his escape from a window. In this fire the two drafts were lost, and here follows the extraordinary failing—the man lost all recollection of those drafts, as if he had never had them. He was a hard-working man, and was always pushing forward, consequently he did not feel any great inconvenience from the want of money; but recently, after sixteen years had elapsed, an event occurred which recalled the whole of the facts to his mind. He had then formed the idea of going home; but this was frustrated by a loss which he sustained, while working in Oamaru, of no less a sum than £1050. While ruminating over this he suddenly remembered that he had intended to go home before, and the recollection of his having the drafts before the fire flashed into his mind. Here however, he found another difficulty, for the name of the bank from which ha obtained the drafts was gone from him; hence his reason for enquiring as to what banks were in Greymouth in 1867, and his desire to collect any evidence bearing on his doings at Greymouth in that year. Mr Wickes remembers clearly that in 1866 that the Banks of New Zealand, New South Wales,, and the Union Bank of Australasia all had agencies there, and as the man is confident that he was told the draft was on the " head office in London," and the Bank of New Zealand had no head office in London, the probability is strong, assuming the man's story to be correct, that one of the other banks issued the drafts referred to.